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Old March 26, 2013, 08:04 PM   #51
BumbleBug
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Brownell has the media ($46/5lb):

http://www.brownells.com/reloading/c...prod42858.aspx

The kit (tumbler & media)($229):

http://www.brownells.com/reloading/c...prod42993.aspx

Just FYI...
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Old March 26, 2013, 08:06 PM   #52
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None of the brass looked rotted or pitted after it was done tumbling, and they were all smooth to the touch. Some of the pieces had faint stained patches afterward, but the surface was still smooth and level.

I'd probably throw out anything that had craters, pits or other signs of missing metal afterward, but I haven't come across any like that yet.
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Old March 26, 2013, 08:11 PM   #53
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Re: Anyone have some really NASTY brass they want cleaned?

Some of the stuff I sent was VERY tarnished/stained. I found this in my barn in an open box, under a window that leaked, and it had been there for years (some over a decade).

Can't imagine much worse in the finish department minus pitting/cracks.
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Old March 26, 2013, 08:39 PM   #54
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I'm no chemist, but I suspect that, as with aluminum, the corrosion that forms on brass is somewhat protective, so the metal doesn't continue to flake and rot away over time like ferrous metals do.
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Old March 26, 2013, 08:40 PM   #55
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50BMG cleaning brass

Before:





After:





I've posted about SS Pins before, and got lamblasted by people who boil their brass as being the only way to clean brass. Proof is in the pictures that SS Pins work better.

Have Fun, Be Safe, Shoot More !!!
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Old March 26, 2013, 08:46 PM   #56
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OldmanFCSA...

What equipment are you using to tumble with?

TIA...
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Old March 26, 2013, 10:04 PM   #57
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ScottRiqui, what is it you put in the tumbler along with the SS media?
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Old March 26, 2013, 11:44 PM   #58
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The other things added are Lemishine and Dawn dish soap.

I have experimented with many combination, whether it be time, soap, etc, and almost all turn out well. Depending how bad the brass looks going in will depend on the tumbling time. It also depends on the purpose of the brass after the tumbling.

Pistol plinking, I am not too worried about it being perfect.
The .338 Lapua brass on the other hand gets tumbled for a very long period.

I usually run pistol calibers 2-3 hours and I usually run rifle 4-5 hours. I also don't measure the amounts of Dawn or Lemi that I put in anymore as I saw it as a waste of a little time. Now, I just squeeze the big jug of Dawn until I think, "Well, that should probably be enough" and the Lemishine gets a very quick squirt and is not overused.

A suggestion for separating media and brass--> Use a paint strainer/filter bag. You can pour all of the contents of the tumbler into a pasta strainer inside the bag, enclose the bag around the strainer, and shake under water! This will separate the media out, wash everything off, and help in not losing any pins. It has become my favorite method of separation.
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Old March 27, 2013, 12:49 PM   #59
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SS Pins

OldmanFCSA...

What equipment are you using to tumble with?

TIA...


Thumlers Tumbler Model B Hi-Speed,
Fill barrel to 2/3 full of brass,
Add 5 pounds SS Pins,
Fill to within 1/2" of top with cold water,
HEALTHY squirt of Dawn dish soap,
Big dash of LemiShine,
Tumble 8 hours.

I run 3 barrels, so I can run 24 hours a day. Tumbler very seldom shuts off, pull a barrel, put another on, .....

If when you open, you don't see suds, you need more Dawn to keep dirt in suspension with water.
If you do not get the shine you want, its a combination of time, soap, and Lemishine.

I've done up to 750 223 casings at once, but normally would recommend 500.
Straight wall cartridges, fill barrel 2/3 full.

After pin separation - many methods work - read and watch videos.

Rinse in cold water, tumble in beach towel to remove exterior water, then put in colander, set at an angle so air flow will go thru, lay desk fan on top of brass. Bag when dry. I've found use of heat tarnishes brass way faster.
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Old March 27, 2013, 03:13 PM   #60
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I just went back and edited post #47 - the tumbler I got from STM is the high-speed version after all, with the 3000 RPM motor. That gives the tumbling barrel a rotational speed of about 60 RPM.
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Old March 28, 2013, 10:36 PM   #61
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I got my brass back today. I am still impressed at what this media does to brass.
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Old March 28, 2013, 10:40 PM   #62
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Glad it made it back. I never thought that brass would come clean the way it did. I just figured it would be a good test for the tumbler, and we'd take what we could get as far as getting it clean.
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Old March 29, 2013, 12:15 PM   #63
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My only concern would be the comments made about hardening the brass, and in that case I would assume that your method of the split 4 hour tumble would be much better than the 24 hour tumble method as it's less time of the pins hammering the brass. Makes me want to drool though seeing the brass come out that clean!
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Old March 29, 2013, 07:59 PM   #64
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Thank you, guys!

Man, I have to give a big THANK YOU to Scott, and to everyone on the thread for really posting good information...I've been on the fence about this for a while, and after seeing the results, I'm sold!

STM stated about a three week backorder time, but that's OK...I'll just have to go shooting or something while I'm waiting

Thanks again,

-BB
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Old March 31, 2013, 08:13 PM   #65
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Well my tumbler just took a crap yesterday. I'm guessing the motor burned out. Now I'm really torn on what to do. Not sure if I want to spend this much money on a tumbler, but I'm guessing that if you do, it should last a lifetime.

Has anyone ever tried ceramic media? The last place I worked, they had a very large(about the size of a good sized hot tub) industrial vibrating polisher that used ceramic media. I was always tempted to throw some brass in there.

Where I work now, we have some sand mills that use little ceramic balls(about 1mm diameter). They replace them after so many hours, and I was considering trying some of that used media.

Last edited by Gdawgs; March 31, 2013 at 08:22 PM.
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Old March 31, 2013, 08:42 PM   #66
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Quote:
Well my tumbler just took a crap yesterday. I'm guessing the motor burned out. Now I'm really torn on what to do. Not sure if I want to spend this much money on a tumbler, but I'm guessing that if you do, it should last a lifetime.
What brand/kind of tumbler died on you? I'm pretty confident as to the longevity of the Thumler's model - it was originally designed for tumbling rocks, and just a single batch of rocks requires about 580 hours of near-continuous run time.
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Old March 31, 2013, 08:47 PM   #67
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Mine was just a cheap Frankford Arsenal.

I can't believe that even brass tumblers are out of stock everywhere. This is rediculous.

The more I look at your pictures, the more I want one of these setups!
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Old March 31, 2013, 08:51 PM   #68
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Quote:
I can't believe that even brass tumblers are out of stock everywhere. This is rediculous.
I know - it's crazy. I suspect that reloaders only make up a small fraction of the entire shooting community, so it doesn't take much of an influx of new reloaders to overwhelm the component and equipment manufacturers.
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Old April 1, 2013, 10:17 PM   #69
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Re: Anyone have some really NASTY brass they want cleaned?

ScottRiqui...

Received my brass back today...awesome. I am sold...
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Old April 1, 2013, 10:23 PM   #70
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Glad you liked it - thanks again for providing "guinea pig" brass!
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Old April 3, 2013, 05:56 PM   #71
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Just placed my order for a kit with STM! Can't wait to try it out. Looks like it will be a few weeks to get it though. Thanks for the info and demo!
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Old April 18, 2013, 07:14 PM   #72
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STM shipping update

Cory just sent out an email with the tracking information...pretty excited! I was going to try and run a little more brass through my ultrasonic setup, but I will just wait a little while longer and run it through the STM rig!

I even ordered (and received) some plastic knobs from McFeely's to use instead of the wingnuts.

Ordered on 3/29, shipped on 4/18. Life is good
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Old April 18, 2013, 07:33 PM   #73
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Quote:
I even ordered (and received) some plastic knobs from McFeely's to use instead of the wingnuts.
That's a really good idea - do you remember the diameter and thread pitch?
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Old April 18, 2013, 09:29 PM   #74
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I just got my shipping notification today too! Can't wait to try it out.
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Old April 18, 2013, 09:59 PM   #75
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Quote:
That's a really good idea - do you remember the diameter and thread pitch?

JKA-2500 1/4-20 FEMALE FLUTED KNOB
(In stock) $0.71 7 $4.97

I ordered seven so I would have a spare knob in case I broke one.
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